SeveaWeeks ia Hawaii 

Aa American Girl 





Class ^ 

Book 



\llb 



Copyright N°_ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT: 



Seven Weeks In 
Hawaii 



BY 



AN AMERICAN GIRL 

[M. L. C] 




Eight illustrations 
and an index 



CHICAGO— 1918 



Gnfo 



Copyrighted and Published by 

HOWARD D. BERRETT 
121 E. ERIE ST. 

CHICAGO. ILL. 



Published June, 1913 



/> £* 



CI.A350160 



TO 

MY MOTHER 



Seven Weeks 
in Hawaii 



T-J A, this is a fine old ark ! Last night I had the 
time of my life. Would you believe it? I am really 
enjoying the voyage. The first few days I was too 
uncertain of myself to be perfectly happy, but now 
I 've gotten into the spirit of it, and I begin to under- 
stand the fascination which the sea holds for a captain 
and his crew. Last night was wonderful. For me it 
was a new and exciting experience, and I shall never 
forget my sensations. The wind was terrific, howling 
and shrieking as it swept the deck; combined with the 
roar of the ocean sounding like all the demons under 
the sea let loose! And I loved it. I felt elated with 
the excitement of it! I wanted to rush out and up, on 
the topmost pinnacle of the ship, and cry out to the 
ocean, " Do your worst ! " And through it all to realize 
that you are away out in the middle of the sea, hun- 
dreds of miles from anything — Oh, it 's great ! I 
should have expected to feel a sort of terror in such a 
night, but on the contrary I wanted it to last, and it 
was much against my will that I finally went to sleep. 
It 's perfectly beautiful out this morning, getting 
warmer all the while, but the wind is still so strong 
that no one stays on deck. Yesterday we passed the 
" China " from the Orient, bound for San Francisco, 
and such blowing and whistling! It was aboard this 
ship that the ex-Queen Liliuokalani made her last trip 

5 



6 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

to the mainland on the occasion of her visit to Presi- 
dent Cleveland in 1896. 

II 

T T is quite warm. The sun shines in my cabin and 
the sea is very calm. I have just finished my lunch 
and am feeling splendid. I will certainly be well rested 
after six days of inertia like this. The Captain says I 
will have corns on my back ! He gives a dinner tonight, 
and insists I attend, but I told him I would only get 
sick and spoil the party. The Captain is very dis- 
gusted with this letter. He says 1 5 ve done nothing but 
write on it ever since I came aboard. He 's a funny 
old fellow. 

The wind is down, we are making good time, and will 
anchor in Quarantine harbor at 6:40, and at Hon- 
olulu at 7 :40. 

We pass within ten miles of Molokai (Leper Island), 
but it will be in the night. However they have promised 
to call me at five-thirty in the morning, when we pass 
the first lighthouse, so this is the end -of my boat ride, 
Mother dear, and I 've really enjoyed it all. 



in 



ESS than three hours ago my friends met me at the 
dock, and together we walked to the cable office 
where I sent you a message, and then went on to their 
cottage for breakfast. As we passed the docks the air 
was heavy with the odors of bananas, pineapples and 
molasses being loaded on the outgoing vessels. I found 
the streets narrow and none too clean, but the climate 
is glorious — the sun shines as I have never seen it 
shine before. Truly this is the place for me! 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 7 

My first glimpse of the kanaka was the policemen. 
They are fine looking fellows of a soft chocolate brown, 
tall and straight, with black hair and mustache, large 
brown eyes, and rows of perfect white teeth. 

On the walks here and there sat native women weav- 
ing all sorts of bright colored flowers into long strands, 
called lets. Not only these, but all the native women 
we passed, wore a loose full garment called holoku, 
usually white, with no waist line, but gathered to a yoke 
at the shoulder. 

In the streets were numbers of kanakas at work on 
the roads, and though their clothes were old and torn 
and most carelessly worn, yet around their hat bands 
they wore wreaths of fresh bright flowers. 

The " Royal Hawaiian " is ideal for a hotel in the 
tropics ; old, lumberly, and spreading all over every- 
where. It was built many years ago, originally of 
stone, but there seem to be numberless frame additions. 
It is painted white with green shutters, and sits back 
from the street mid tropical trees, vines and foliage. 
Though there are more modern hotels, I preferred this 
one for its associations with the past, its beautiful sur- 
roundings, and its air of hospitality. It is of Hawaii, 
Hawaiian. On either side of the main entrance are 
wonderful lanai (porches) almost circular in shape, 
furnished with comfortable chairs, tables, ferns, palms, 
and tropical plants, where I understand the guests 
practically live. As I entered I noticed that some were 
sewing, some stringing beads, some reading, some 
shuffling cards, while still others entertained themselves 
with billiards. 

The service is all Chinese, including the clerks in the 
office. 

My room is on the main floor, with glass doors and 
old fashioned shutters opening on a private lanai. The 
room is large, cool and comfortable. A white mosquito 
net is suspended from the ceiling and falls to the floor 



8 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

over a large brass bed between two big windows, fur- 
nishing plenty of sunshine and air. 

I feel fine now, and it 's warm — warm — warm ! 
Doors and windows open, and I using a palm-leaf in 
January! Everybody seems to live out of doors and 
dress in white. 



IV 

THO say I am disappointed not getting a letter from 
you by the boat yesterday is putting it mildly, and 
there will be no boat for days. Mother, we 're a great 
distance apart. I never realized this until about the 
fifth day out to sea, and then it dawned upon me there 
was quite a pond between us. But never mind, I shall 
have a letter on every boat and try to make up in quan- 
tity what they are sure to lack in quality. I would not 
be surprised if you received in one mail all the letters 
I have thus far written, and if you do, please look at 
the dates and read first the ones written first. 

I have twice lost myself in this hotel already; there 
are so many lanai and turns and corners and bends — 
you never saw such a place. Dining-rooms, writing- 
rooms, billiard-rooms and living-rooms — everything on 
the lanai. People are in the house only to sleep and 
dress. Had I made the climate to order it would prob- 
ably not have suited me so well. This is mid-winter, 
yet I wore my rosebud dress last night and came home 
at twelve without a wrap. I am perfectly delighted. 

About four or five miles south of the city is Waikiki, 
a beautiful beach of white sand sloping so gradually 
that bathers may go far out before getting into deep 
water. Coral reefs prevent an undertow and form a 
natural wall against the sharks. The water is about 
78 degrees, and bathing and swimming are delightful 
the year round. 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 9 

On this beach are located the Outrigger Club House 
and grounds. This club is devoted to surf and outrig- 
ger riding, the principal sports of the Islands. The 
surf-boards are about seven feet long by two feet wide, 
pointed at one end to cut the water. The natives swim 
with these boards far out, and standing upon them 
catch a wave as it breaks and are carried with great 
speed shoreward upon its crest. Hundreds of people 
on the beach watch this sport, and I stood with the rest 
today wishing, yea longing, to join the natives. 

One has a beautiful view of Diamond Head from 
this beach, an extinct volcano, with its highest point 
extending well out in the sea, and sloping gradually back 
to land. It is now reserved by the Government for 
military forts and there are splendid roads almost to 
its summit. The lighthouse upon its side can be seen 
many miles to sea, and Diamond Head is the first 
glimpse of land seen from the steamer as you near the 
Island of Oahu. 

On Waikiki Beach is situated the aristocratic hotel of 
the Islands, " The Moana," and on its broad lanai light 
refreshments are served throughout the day. From its 
long pier reaching out into the ocean we watched a 
brief, red, glorious sunset, returning to the " Alex- 
ander Young " for dinner. This is the best hotel in 
Honolulu, a thoroughly modern place, which would 
compare favorably with any first-class hotel on the 
mainland. After dinner we returned to the lanai of 
the " Royal Hawaiian," where I met its guests in a 
body, and was, so to speak, " taken in." They seem 
to be a very happy family, with a freedom of speech 
and manner quite new to me. 

I go now to lunch at the " Young Cafe," where I ex- 
pect to take most of my meals while here. It is about 
two blocks from the " Hawaiian." Would that you 
were with me. 



10 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 



f HAVE just discovered that I live only two blocks 
from the ex-Queen, and that my room joins that 
which King Kalakaua once occupied ! Is n't that ex- 
citing? 

I was surprised to learn of the arrival of a boat this 
morning from San Francisco, and waited for a letter 
on the lanai for two hours. The postman said there 
were some two hundred and fifty bags of mail yet to 
be distributed, so I am still hoping for a letter. 

This country is so beautiful and I am so excited over 
it all, there seems to be no place for me to begin to 
describe my visit. We hunted wiliwili beans in Thomas 
Square this morning, then crossing King Street to the 
old Cocoanut Plantation we watched a native tie his 
feet together, climb a hundred foot cocoanut tree, push 
cocoanuts down with his feet and slide down again. 
The cocoanut which I am sending you by parcel post 
is ripe, such as you get in the States, but the ones we 
ate in the grove were green. We drank the milk, which 
was much richer than that of the ripe cocoanut, the 
meat being about the consistency of a hard boiled egg. 
We ate it with a spoon and found it most delicious. 

At Waikiki Beach this afternoon I gathered shells, 
while the others went into the surf. You see I am try- 
ing dreadfully hard to stay out of the water for your 
sake. / hope I succeed. 

Tonight we listened to the concert on the roof gar- 
den of the " Alexander Young Hotel," given by the 
famous Royal Hawaiian Band. This band is composed 
of twenty-seven Hawaiians, two of whom are women 
vocalists. It was organized nearly forty years ago, 
with its present leader, Professor Berger of Germany. 



fe 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 11 

The music was excellent and the women sang "Aloha " 
and other native songs beautifully. 

P. S. — Your letter has come, and I have most worn 
out the paper reading it. 



VI 



f AM writing this note between the acts of curling my 
* hair. I am holding the iron with one hand, while I 
write with the other. You see time is pretty scarce 
here just before a boat sails. Boat day is the same 
everywhere. All the writing tables full and people run- 
ning thither and yon with stationery, hunting ink and 
tables. It 's very exciting. I can see the disgusted 
look on your face and hear you say : " Why put it off 
until the last minute? " But vou see we are on the 
travel so hard that we only think of bed when we 
finally turn in, and besides, the motto here is : " Put 
off until tomorrow what you can't do today." 

Eleven o'clock! dear me, and the boat leaving at 
twelve ! I '11 have to hurry. 



I 



VII 



T is one week today since I arrived in Honolulu. Time 
never went so quickly, yet when I think of you, and 
read your last letter written New Year's Day, it seems 
a year since I left home. 

This morning we visited the fish market. I wanted 
especially to see the devil fish (octopus), or as they call 
them here, squid. There was a great display of them. 
When handled they change color. The natives and 
Chinese eat them raw with vinegar! Think of that! 
A poor old kanaka with white hair and trembling hands 
was pricing them — a quarter for one, it was too much 



12 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

— he shook his head. I bought one and gave it to him. 
He was childish with delight. 

As I passed the many stalls of gorgeously colored 
fish I was really startled to think of eating such beau- 
tiful things. There were scarlet fishes and orange 
fishes ; fishes from the brightest purple to the lightest 
azure blue; green ones and black ones, pink ones and 
yellow ones, and then there were some with all these 
colors, placed so positively and so artistically they 
formed regular conventional designs, and you felt they 
had surely been painted with a brush. Yet no; never 
have human hands colored anything so lovely! 

This afternoon we had tea at the Outrigger Club — 
I '11 have to confess — after a perfectly glorious swim. 
(It was the call of the wild, mother dear, and I had 
to go.) We sat on bamboo stools under a hau tree, and 
were served by a quaint little Japanese maid. We had 
a delightful time. 

Later we were shown through the old private grounds 
of the late Hon. A. S. Cleghorn. A cocoanut dropped 
from a tree close by, so I picked it up for a souvenir. 
For blocks the driveway was bordered on either side 
with flaming red hibiscus and other 'highly-colored 
things. In fact it was such a tangle wood of brightness 
and sweet odors that I was breathless with delight. In 
the evening I had a glorious ride — through public 
parks, past the old Spreckels mansion, the ex-Queen's 
summer home, the aquarium, Oahu College grounds, 
through Kapiolani park, around Diamond Head, and 
back by Fort DeRussy and Fort Ruger to Waikiki 
Beach. 

Then yesterday afternoon, in company with other 
guests from our hotel, I enjoyed still another long 
drive, and on the tide-flats south of the City took a 
picture of the snail women. These barefoot creatures 
wade in mud and water to their knees, gathering snails 
brought in with the tide, which they place in tin cans 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 13 

suspended from each end of a pole balanced over their 
shoulders. Driving on a few miles beyond Waikiki we 
ate delicious bananas fresh from the trees. I was sur- 
prised to learn that when a banana tree bears a bunch 
of fruit it dies, a new sprout starts up from the root, 
bears one bunch and in turn dies. The trees grow 
about four inches a day, and the fruit matures from 
twelve to fourteen months after sprouting. There 
were two kinds of banana trees in this grove — one 
variety over fifteen feet tall, and one low tree only 
about seven. 

I noticed a wire placed around the cocoanut grove. 
The owner explained that it was for the protection of 
grazing horses ; that a cocoanut falling on a horse 
would kill it. He told us a certain kind of rat made 
its home in these trees, never coming down, feeding 
entirely upon the stems of the nuts, so it was really 
never safe to stand under one of these trees. Cocoanuts 
weigh, with the hull on, from three to twenty pounds 
each. 

At three o'clock they dropped me out at Waikiki, 
where I had an appointment to go outrigger riding. 
We have engaged the services of the champion swimmer 
of the world to guide our boat. His name is Duke 
Kahanamoku. He carried the honors last year at the 
Olympic Games in Stockholm — one hundred yards in 
fifty-five and one-fifth seconds. He is a grand fellow, 
only twenty-one years old, about six feet tall and as 
dark as an Indian. I sat directly in front of him in 
the boat, and he told me many interesting things about 
the fishes and the coral, and offered to teach me to ride 
on the surf -boards. I told him I would love to learn if 
I could keep from getting wet. He thought this a great 
joke, and when we finally returned, before I knew it, the 
Duke was carrying me to shore to " keep the lady from 
getting wet " as he said, and how he laughed and showed 
his pretty white teeth. I am quite fond of the Duke ! 



14 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

Well, that outrigger ride was a great success. Going 
far out from the shore we caught a wave breaking just 
back of our boat and were washed rapidly ashore. We 
were each furnished with a stout wooden paddle, about 
four feet long, with which we rowed the boat back to 
the depths to await another breaker. These boats are 
made by the natives, and are really canoes about two 
feet wide by two feet deep, and varying in length from 
fifteen to twenty-five feet. They are made by hollowing 
out a log and trimming each end to a point. From one 
side extends an outrigger made of long curved poles 
attached to either end of the boat and connected with a 
cross-bar of light weight wood, which floats along the 
surface of the water forming a balance. 

We dined at the " Moana Hotel," attended a band 
concert in Emma Square and ended the day with a pine- 
apple feast on my private lanai. 

Each day is pretty much like this, something doing 
all the while, and if there should happen to be a lull for 
a moment we rush to the dock and bid other people's 
friends good-by. In fact Honolulu has this habit, of 
bidding its guests bon voyage as the boats depart. It 
is really a very pretty custom, and quite a sight, with 
the streamers, leis flowers and other aloha offerings. 
These leis are long chains of fresh flowers, strung and 
sold by the native women for all sorts of gala occasions. 
They are placed upon the shoulders of departing 
friends, who throw them back to shore as the boat moves 
away. 

VIII 

T HAVE read your three good letters many times — 
* and wish I had three more. What a storm you are 
having! I feel selfish to be here in this beautiful sun- 
shine while you are marooned in the snow. 

Yesterday we made the tour of the Island, leaving the 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 15 

hotel at nine in the morning for the Pali (Hawaiian 
word for precipice) some five miles from Honolulu. 
We drove through the beautiful Nuuanu Valley, dotted 
here and there with pretty houses half hidden by trees ; 
cocoanuts, breadfruits, algarobas and candlenuts ; iron, 
eucalyptus, monkey-pods and papaia. This papaia, 
green in color, is a fruit resembling our cantaloupe in 
shape and size, but with a sweet, insipid taste. It is 
said to contain more pepsin than any other fruit and is 
a general favorite on the Islands. The tree is straight 
with few branches, its leaves resembling the fig. The 
fruit does not grow on the limbs of the tree, but on 
stems extending from the body, and when full of ripe 
fruit the tree presents a strangely beautiful sight. 

The breadfruit tree is in shape and size similar to the 
fig, only the leaves are about twelve inches across. The 
fruit resembles a green orange in shape and color, but is 
about four times the size. When baked and served 
with butter they taste like sweet potatoes and are really 
quite good. 

The algaroba trees bear a long pod filled with beans, 
which are ground and used for horse feed. It seems 
that all the parts of a tree here find utility somewhere — 
the body, bark, leaves, fruit, blossoms, seeds, and some- 
times even the roots. 

Driving on up through the mountains we reached 
the Pali. This Pali is a famous precipice from which 
there is a wonderful view of land and sea for many 
miles, and on its summit there is a little grotto where 
a stone tablet has been placed, on which the following 
is carved: 

" Erected by the Daughters of Hawaii in 1907 to com- 
memorate the battle of Nuuanu, fought in this valley in 1795, 
when the invading Kamehameha I. drove the forces of Kal- 
anikupule, king of Oahu, to the Pali and hurled them over the 
precipice, thus establishing the Kamehameha dynasty." 

The Pali is one thousand feet above the sea and there 



16 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

is a splendid road to its summit, and on down its other 
side into the valley below. Through this mountain pass 
the wind sweeps with terrible force, and let the day be 
ever so calm below, there is always a gale over the Pali. 
It was so upon this occasion, and we found no little 
difficulty in making our way to the stone wall placed by 
the government for the protection of pedestrians at the 
spot where the two old chiefs concluded their combat so 
many years ago. 

Descending on the other side of the Pali we passed 
acres and acres of taro. The leaves of this plant resem- 
ble our water lily in color, size and shape, and it is from 
the root that the principal native food is made, called 
poi. We passed hundreds of beautiful green rice fields, 
in all stages of its growth. This rice is sown very thick 
and when only a few inches high is transplanted in water 
about a foot deep. It is a very bright yellow-green and 
when young and tender must be carefully guarded from 
the rice-birds, who would destroy whole fields within a 
few days. They seem to attack the rice only about five 
o'clock in the evening, at which time the coolies may be 
seen with pop-guns, three or four to each field, scream- 
ing and making a great fuss for an hour or more to 
frighten the little birds away. These fields are plowed 
by the water-buffalo, a homely, gentle little creature 
with much power of endurance. 

As we rode around the Koolan side we saw the ruins 
of the first sugar-mill erected on the Islands, and it was 
here I beheld for the first time the lauhala tree full of 
ripe fruit, and realized why so many people returned 
from the Islands with the mistaken idea that pineapples 
grow on trees, since the lauhala fruit resembles the 
pineapple in form, size, and color, even to the yucca 
shaped leaves surrounding it. This tree seems to belong 
to the palm family, although it has straight limbs, 
extending from its top, on the ends of which are tufts 
of spear-shaped leaves with the fruit in its center. 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 17 

These leaves are dried in the shade for the lighter tints, 
and in the full sunlight for the tan effects, and woven 
into many articles of use, such as canoe sails, rugs, 
mats, fans, kites, etc. I am preparing a kodak book 
for you with a cover made of these woven leaves. 

All along our route we noticed a heavy undergrowth 
of guava shrub and hau trees. This hau tree in its wild 
state is just a great mass of twisted limbs lying over the 
ground, but when properly pruned and supported by a 
trellis makes a dense shade and is used much for arbors, 
lanai and yard decorations. The guava is a popular 
fruit and famous for preserving. 

About one o'clock we arrived at the beautiful little 
hotel at Haleiwa, where upon its cool comfortable lanai, 
we did justice to a splendid luncheon. After two hours 
of exploring and picture taking we started on, passing 
thousands of acres of sugar cane, most of which was 
bordered on either side with tall graceful iron trees, 
planted to form a windbreak for the cane. 

At Waialua we went through a large sugar mill, 
employing over two thousand laborers, and turning out 
over one hundred tons of sugar daily. When the cane is 
ready to be cut the field is set on fire, which serves the 
double purpose of destroying the leaves and killing the 
pests, and does not harm the cane stalks. It is then cut 
by hand and carried in small cars to the crushing mill, 
where the juice is extracted. The molasses is shipped 
in hogsheads and the cane pulp is dried for fuel, being 
almost sufficient to run the mill. All sugar is shipped 
in an unrefined state. There is only one sugar refinery 
on the Islands, and it has been started but recently. 

Stopping next at a coral beach we found some very 
pretty specimens, part of which I am mailing to you. 
There is a beautiful pink coral found here which would 
be valuable but for the fact that it loses its color shortly 
after being exposed to the light and air. 

Going on, we passed Schofield Barracks, where are 



18 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

stationed several thousand soldiers, and on over the 
plateau, where we had a splendid bird's-eye view of 
Pearl Harbor (seven miles west of Honolulu). At this 
wonderful landlocked harbor the United States Naval 
Station and Dry Docks are under construction. Up to 
date there has been appropriated for work at Pearl 
Harbor some ten millions of dollars. The Dry Docks 
alone when completed will have cost over three million 
dollars. 

We drove through thousands of acres of pineapple 
fields in every stage of growth, from the tiny plants to 
the matured fruit. There are two ways of starting the 
plants — from the young sprouts growing at the side 
of the old stock, and from the tops of the matured apple. 
These are planted in rows about three feet apart and 
mature in from twelve to fifteen months. In eating the 
fruit direct from the grove you get a flavor unknown to 
the commercial product, and my capacity for destroy- 
ing fresh pineapples in great quantities is a surprise to 
everybody, myself included. We stopped at Wahiawa, 
situated about the center of Oahu, where we visited the 
plantations and country home of Mr. Thomas, who I 
am told made the first experiment in growing pineapples 
here, since become one of the two principal industries of 
the Islands, the other being cane sugar. 

This morning we visited the Thomas pineapple can- 
nery, where we saw the fruit pared, cored and sliced by 
machinery, canned, sealed, boiled, and labeled. It was 
all very interesting, and I hope to visit the cannery 
again before I leave the Islands. The hand work is done 
by Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese women, who wear 
thick rubber gloves to protect their hands from the acid 
of the fruit. 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 19 



IX 



j AST night I attended a real luau (native feast). 
■ Lj It was a most novel affair. The hostess was the 
Princess Theresa, a niece of ex-Queen Liliuokalani. 
She was celebrating the twenty-first birthday of her son, 
Robert Kalanikupuapaika Laninui Keoua Wilcox. The 
father of this boy, Robert Wilcox, was the first delegate 
to Congress from the Territory of Hawaii. 

There were perhaps a hundred different kinds of food, 
peculiar and unpalatable looking. It was mostly cooked 
under ground, I was told, in a large hole, hot stones 
being heaped upon it. Their food, their manner of 
eating, their houses, their amusements, all are so 
peculiar and foreign to us that it is with difficulty the 
stranger avoids an act or word which might wound 
their feelings, for they are a very generous and hospi- 
table people, these kanakas, and would divide their last 
morsel with you. I excused myself from dining on the 
strength of my late arrival. They ate entirely with 
their fingers, and while the feast was in progress out on 
the lanai ten native girls danced the hula and sang and 
played on the ukulele. This native instrument resembles 
our guitar in shape, but is much smaller and has but 
four strings. All the Hawaiians have rich melodious 
voices, very different from our own. 

We were introduced to several persons of note, among 
them one David K. Kahaulelio, the nephew-in-law of the 
Princess. He was tall, dark, and handsome (as kanakas 
go) and quite interesting. He gave us his autograph, 
and invited us to visit him at his home on the Island of 
Maui. He is the son of Judge Kahaulelio, of Lahaina. 
He told us the ex-Queen, Liliuokalani, used to spend 
several weeks each year at his Maui home, but she is 
now too old to travel. 



20 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

The Princess Theresa took the yellow leis from her 
own neck and placed them on ours. She wore white lace 
over a white satin gown, and a wonderful necklace of 
ivory, with a pendant carved from a human bone. Only 
members of the royal family are allowed to wear any- 
thing made from the human bone. She is probably 
sixty years of age, and I believe was once a very hand- 
some woman. Mr. Wilcox is her second husband, and 
seemed to be the younger of the two. The Princess told 
us the ex-Queen had called in the afternoon. Truly it 
was an interesting evening, and one I shall never for- 
get. And as though this was not excitement enough for 
one while — this morning I saw the ex-Queen ! It hap- 
pened this way. 

I had an invitation to a fried banana breakfast at a 
cottage in the grounds, and while dressing a friend 
informed me by telephone that the band was on its way 
to the ex-Queen's home, Washington Place. Enough 
said! The Royal Hawaiian Band has for many years 
serenaded the old ex-Queen Liliuokalani once a month, 
and I had promised myself the treat of this occasion. 
I dressed hurriedly, and within twenty minutes was 
standing in her presence, kodak in hand, an uninvited 
guest. Dressed in black silk she sat on her front 
Xanax, attended by one maid. I cannot think she was 
ever a handsome woman, even at her best, but now 
in spite of age and marks of disappointment, she is, I 
think, remarkably dignified and stately as becomes one 
of her rank. As I looked at the poor old ex-Queen I 
almost felt with her that it was a shame for a great and 
powerful nation, possessing more territory than it could 
possibly occupy, to cross two thousand miles of sea and 
take from the poor Hawaiians their little spots in the 
broad Pacific. 

Guests arrived in carriages, paid their respects and 
left floral offerings. She did not rise to greet them, 
but bowed and smiled. I asked the maid if I might take 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 21 

a picture, but she shook her head, " No." Later I saw 
the Queen and the maid have quite a little conversation, 
apparently about me, the maid evidently telling her 
I wanted a picture. She looked at me hard several 
times, and finally smiled. 

I excused myself to my host and hostess for being 
late to breakfast, saying I was in the presence of roy- 
alty, and could not leave sooner ! They became excited, 
losing their appetites instantly, snatching their hats 
as they ran to see the ex-Queen. By the time we finally 
collected for breakfast it was noon, so we lunched 
instead. The fried bananas were delicious. They are a 
sort of vegetable banana, not good uncooked. The peel 
is red, and the fruit is twice the thickness of an ordinary 
banana. 

I spent this afternoon down town. I found the little 
curio shops quite interesting and the novelties both 
quaint and pretty. I have just mailed you a box of my 
gleanings : some fans of bamboo, of cocoanut and lauhala 
leaves ; some purses made of koa seeds ( sometimes called 
mimosa), together with several strands of seeds which 
are strung as beads and worn by the native women. 
The bright red ones are called wiliwili; they grow 
on trees in long brown pods. The tiny brown ones 
are koa, and are boiled and strung while soft. The 
black thin flat ones are called opiam, and must be 
strung immediately after falling from the tree; they 
grow in a pod also, on a tree similar to our 
locust. The light-gray seeds are called Job's tears 
and grow on low bushes in great quantities in swampy 
ground. I gathered my hat full of these tears the 
other day near the duck ponds on my way to Waikiki. 
The string of long white trumpet-shaped shells are 
called nuhau, and are found near Waikiki. I think 
they are the oddest shells I ever saw. The pieces 
of coral I picked up on the beach. The nuts are 
called kukui and contain a rich oil, which the natives 



22 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

burned in earlier times for light. They are also pol- 
ished and strung like beads. The gourd-like fruit is 
called calabash. The poorer natives dry these, hollow 
them out and use them as pot bowls. The leaf resem- 
bling our century plant is called sisal, and from it a 
very strong rope is made. The little book of Hawaiian 
legends is bound in tapa cloth. This tapa is made of 
the bark of the paper mulberry tree. It is prepared 
by boiling and afterward beating into thin sheets. This 
was used by the natives for both clothing and bed linen. 
It is now becoming quite rare as its manufacture has 
ceased. I am also sending you a pound of the native 
coffee, called Jcona. 

These things were all new and interesting to me, and 
I think will be as full of interest for you. 

Tonight we had a little ice-cream supper in the old 
drawing-room of the " Royal Hawaiian," and a bit of 
music on the koa-wood piano by a dear little lady who 
is spending her third winter here. This " Baby-Grand " 
is a queer old harp. Every time you touch its keys 
sawdust pours from its vitals in a little stream, remind- 
ing one of sand in an hour glass. I get so absorbed 
with watching this process that I become almost insen- 
sible to the music. This internal woody hemorrhage 
is caused by a tiny insect who works from the inside of 
the koa-wood, occasionally destroying an entire piece 
of furniture and making no outward sign — the damage 
being unknown until the article collapses. 



X 



rpHE " Ventura " came in yesterday, bringing me 

good letters from you. 

I am being serenaded this morning by myriads of 

little Myna-birds, which are making a great fuss just 

outside my lanai. You remember, mother, we were told 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 23 

there were no birds on the Islands? Well, this is no 
longer true, since the government has imported many 
varieties from Australia, and the trees are full of them. 

I am beginning to enjoy the fruits very much. I 
have eaten for the first time the vi, the guava, the alli- 
gator pear, the papaia, the breadfruit, the mango and 
the soursop. A peculiar thing I have noticed, you must 
cultivate a taste for the native fruits ; none of them 
are appetizing at first. You think them insipid, and 
you feel you could do very well without them, but grad- 
ually you learn to crave them. This first indifference is 
perhaps as well, since it serves as a preventive for over- 
eating. 

Last evening, in company with other guests from 
the hotel I attended the annual gathering of the 
Hawaiian Chapter of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution, at the home of Joseph P. Cook. This is 
one of the most beautiful residences on the Islands, 
built of lava stone, koa-wood being used in the interior. 
Even the furniture, clocks and ornaments are made of 
this native wood, which is a little lighter and redder 
perhaps, but similar to our mahogany. We spent a 
most delightful evening, and on our way home we pur- 
chased a box of candied papaia. Neglecting to place 
this over a dish of water (as one must always do here 
with their sweets) I find that hundreds of little red ants 
have eaten an entrance into each piece and disappeared, 
but / know where they are. These ants are in such 
quantities here that they are really quite a pest, but 
just think, there is not a poisonous reptile or insect on 
these Islands, neither are there any poisonous vines ! 

I find the vegetation of a yellowish green, giving a 
light cast to all the foliage. This was called to my 
attention more particularly through my kodak work, 
it being necessary to use the " extra-rapid " films every- 
where except on the water. I was out picture making 
yesterday, and among others got one of the bronze 



24 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

statue of Kamehameha I., sometimes called Kamehameha 
the Great. It stands on the lawn of 'the Judiciary 
Building, and has a self-appointed guardian in the per- 
son of an old demented native whose madness takes the 
form of worship for this old king. So many years has 
this poor deluded creature stood with upraised finger 
murmuring his praises to this image that he has become 
a part of the landscape, and when his task is over and 
he is no more, the scene will have lost much of its quaint- 
ness — the statue much of its charm. 

Crossing King Street I entered the Capitol Building, 
which, before the annexation, was the home of the 
Hawaiian sovereigns and was called Iolani Palace. I 
visited the throne-room, where the ex-Queen stood trial 
for treason, and on the second floor was shown a room 
in the corner of the building where in 1895 she spent 
eight months as a prisoner. She says it was here and 
at this time that she transcribed the beautiful little song 
called "Aloha Oe " (" Farewell to Thee ")• The build- 
ing contains many historical paintings and the palace 
grounds include a square block, which is used as a public 
park. 

From here I visited a curio stall, where I mailed to 
you a number of interesting postal cards — one, of the 
red poinciana, which is not now in blossom, but they tell 
me it is very beautiful; also a picture of the night- 
blooming cereus, the botanical wonder of the Island. 
This cactus blooms only in June and July, so I will 
miss this sight, but I have seen miles of the hedge, some- 
times six or seven feet in height, surrounding parks 
and private residences. I also sent you a card of the 
wine-palm. Its fruit is not edible, but as it hangs in 
long graceful festoons, from three to four feet in 
length, the tree is very beautiful. You will notice the 
banyan is a most peculiar tree, its roots being developed 
from the branches, which descend to the ground and 
become trunks for the support and nourishment of the 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 25 

extending crown. The wood is soft and of little value. 
Enclosed with this letter you will find a purple bougain- 
villea blossom, picked from a bush on our hotel lawn. 
These grow in abundance here in many colors, and are 
very beautiful. The oleanders, too, are no hothouse 
affairs, but trees of some dimensions, with blossoms 
much larger than those in the States. 



XI 



HHHE " Cleveland " is in, having arrived at nine last 
A night, and I am hoping she brought at least one 
letter from you. There are an unusual number of boats 
arriving, and hotel accommodations seem insufficient 
for the crowds of people pouring in. Mr. Brown, the 
manager of the " Hawaiian," has improvised some 
rooms in the basement, and this great hotel, as well as 
all others in the city, is full to overflowing. This 
morning's " Commercial Advertiser " laments they had 
not anticipated sooner the necessity of preparing for 
this influx. 

Last night I attended the annual presentation of 
" A Night in Hawaii of Old " at the opera house 
directly opposite the old Iolani Palace. Many of the 
customs, traditions, songs, etc., were reproduced from 
the Kamehameha dynasty down to the time of the mis- 
sionaries' arrival. It was strange, weird, and interest- 
ing, including the hula-hula, which was the old court 
dance, and on this account visitors desire to see it, 
but for no other reason, as it is neither graceful nor 
pretty. The girls wear anklets of flowers, their feet 
are bare, their skirts to the knees are covered with a 
native grass ; they have wreaths on their heads, their 
long black hair falls loose; their shoulders are covered 
with leis, and green vines are twined around their arms. 
The music is a sort of weird chant by several old men 



26 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

and women, who sit upon the ground beating and thump- 
ing on gourd-drums and shaking rattles made of small 
dried gourds containing pebbles. 

The entertainment terminated with a delightful musi- 
cal by the Kaai Glee Club. One of the oldest Hawaiian 
songs — " He Manao He Aloha " — a wailing hula — 
was marvelously rendered by one of its members. It 
was like the wail of a lost soul, unlike anything earthly, 
and has been ringing in my ears ever since. They sang 
many very beautiful things, however, and this musical 
was by far the better part of the entertainment. 



XII 

"VVTHAT a time I have had since I last wrote you! 
The most interesting evening I ever spent was at 
a Chinese dinner last Saturday night in the Sing Wa 
Wo Banquet Hall, Smith Street, given in honor of the 
U. S. Navy, our host being Mr. Chung Loy. I was 
seated directly across from Mr. Fauna, the Chinese 
Court Interpreter, a highly educated and interesting 
Chinaman, who was very jolly and spoke English well. 
At my right sat Dr. Hong Kow of the Immigration 
Service, who translated the toasts to me, explained the 
courses as they were served and taught me to hold and 
use my chopsticks with great success. Just as we were 
seated fifty thousand firecrackers were lighted on the 
porch beside us, which, together with the Chinese orches- 
tra in the street below, kept things pretty lively for a 
while. The table decorations were both unique and 
artistic, but the ivory chopsticks interested me most of 
all. It was a real oriental feast, and I regret I can not 
recall the menu in full, from the shark's fins to the al- 
mond-cream ! I shall never forget this dessert. In con- 
sistency, color, and odor it was an exact replica of 
almond lotion for rough hands and chapped lips. I 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 27 

wanted to take mine home for future use. There were 
about ten courses, the like of which I had never seen 
before. They began with bird's-nest soup, and then 
there were all sorts of chop-sueys. There were squids 
and bamboo sprouts, and tender gourds and fishes 
enclosed in pasty noodles, and seaweed, and herbs, and 
roots, and dried abalone, and dozens of other things. 
But those chopsticks ! I admired them to myself and 
then I admired them to my partner, who admonished 
me, explaining that Chinese hospitality would compel 
them to present me with a pair, and they were quite 
expensive. I really ate with them every course that was 
served, even the rice, with such perfect success that our 
host at the end of the meal arose, proposing a toast to 
" Miss C — , the lady who likes chopsticks better than 
fork." They all clapped their hands and then pre- 
sented me with a piece of Chinese tapestry. Then a 
prominent Japanese escorted us through Chinatown to 
a Japanese teahouse, where, at a door, we removed 
our shoes and were seated upon mats on the floor, at a 
table about six inches high, and served with seaweed 
flakes, rice cakes, pickled pig lip, antique preserved fish 
and other delicacies (?). Then the geisha girls (Jap- 
anese dancers) were introduced to us, each bowing to 
the floor and repeating our names. They danced and 
sang, playing with ivory picks on Japanese stringed 
instruments. It was all so weird and oriental that I 
felt in a sort of dream. 

We reached home shortly after eleven. I was a little 
uneasy concerning the effects of this feast upon my 
constitution, but arose the next morning feeling splendid 
and was ready at 7 :30 to climb Punch Bowl, an extinct 
volcano, so named from its cup-shaped crater. We 
gathered koa seeds on the way, which I shelled whilst 
resting in a little grass hut on the summit. I love these 
native grass houses, they are so cool, and have such an 
outdoor smell. They are without floors, the ground 



28 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

being covered with lauhala mats. Small skinned trees 
are used for the frame and to this long bamboo poles 
are tied. This in turn is covered with a long brown 
grass, woven around the bamboo from the ground up. 
While this work may be done by almost any kanaka, 
a glance at a well constructed hut will show you that 
there are artists in this as well as other lines. Love in 
a cottage has never particularly appealed to me, but 
these huts — well they are different ! The natives have 
no furniture, as they sit upon mats, and eat upon the 
ground from wooden bowls. Their houses are adorned 
for the most part with fishing paraphernalia, poi bowls 
and mats — thin delicately woven mats, sometimes doz- 
ens of them, one upon the other, which serve as a bed 
and covering. It is all very quaint and artistic. 

From the summit of Punch Bowl, five hundred feet 
above Honolulu, you have a wonderful view of the city 
and its surroundings. On one side you see acres of 
lovely vegetable gardens, which with their many colored 
leaves and vines appear, at that distance, like vast flower 
beds. Looking on further over the beautiful Manoa 
Valley you get a splendid view of Diamond Head and 
in another direction Pearl Harbor, with a chain of 
mountains in the distance. 

We had walked up the trail, but returned by the 
road, passing many huts and cottages where live the 
Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese laborers employed 
in the Government's Experimental Station, situated on 
the side of the Bowl. Arriving at a cocoanut grove 
about eleven, we purchased some green nuts and walked 
back to the " Hawaiian," stopping to gather some vi 
fruit on the way, having tramped altogether about 
eight miles. 

In the afternoon we motored through Manoa Valley 
and watched the sunset from the summit of Punch Bowl, 
making my second trip there yesterday. This was the 
most beautiful scene yet. The sun was like a big red 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 29 

moon, slowly sinking in the sea. Here upon the Islands 
they have no twilight, no transition stage; the dividing 
line between daylight and dark being sharply drawn. 

We made the descent slowly, enjoying the odors that 
the night air carried to us from the tiny yellow pua 
flowers that grow in great abundance on these slopes. 
A perfumer became so enthused over these little flowers 
once that he started a factory here to make pua per- 
fumery, but for lack of capital his project failed. 

Aloha, dear heart, until the next boat sails. 



XIII 

CINCE writing you last I have had some splendid 
times. At a picnic on Pearl Harbor, about seven 
miles west of Honolulu, we gathered cocoanuts in the 
moonlight, and underneath the trees found beds of newly 
planted nuts, placed there for sprouting. But half 
the depth of the nut was buried, the eyes beneath the 
ground. It was a glorious night, and so still that even 
the tops of the cocoanut trees, which always catch the 
slightest breeze, were motionless, and so brilliant was the 
night that one might read with perfect ease. This is 
moonlight in the tropics. 

Last Tuesday I went alone to visit the Royal Mauso- 
leum, situated in the beautiful Nuuanu Valley. In the 
grounds were numbers of stone monuments, with the 
names of the sovereigns or members of their families 
cut thereon. 

These graves were enclosed by an iron paling, and 
near each end of the four corners there was stationed a 
black pole about three feet high, surmounted by a gold 
ball. The significance of this emblem I could not learn, 
but I am inclined to think the ball is used in place of the 
feather kahili, which the elements would soon destroy. 
The mausoleum proper is built entirely underground, 



30 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

approached by marble steps, which I descended and 
looked through an iron grating into the marble en- 
trance, where the kahilis stood guard. In gold lettering 
upon the walls were engraved the names of those oc- 
cupying the crypts, and on a pedestal in the center of 
this antechamber stood a gold bust of Kamehameha 
the Great. 

From here I went out to Waikiki, and had a delight- 
ful swim, after which I dined at the " Young " on mul- 
let baked in ti leaves. These ti leaves are about five 
inches wide by eighteen inches long and grow wild in 
little clumps or bushes all over the Islands. They are 
gathered by the natives and used as wrapping paper. 
Were you to purchase a fish at the market, or a bunch 
of violets, either would probably be tendered you 
wrapped in ti leaves. They also form a covering for 
many kinds of boiled and baked foods. For instance, a 
bird is drawn, a hot stone is placed inside the carcass, 
and the whole closely wrapped in ti leaves, and lo ! a 
fireless cooker! A well regulated Hawaiian household 
has in its economy many stones, to suit all sizes of fish 
or fowl. 

I spent the evening listening to the Royal Hawaiian 
band. I am very fond of this native music, and so I 
shall bring home with me several records, and when I 
am far from this soft dreamy land I hope they will take 
me back to the dusky foliage and sweet odors of the 
tropics. 



XIV 



HTRULY, " The way of the transgressor is hard ! " 
My muscles are so sore I can scarcely bend. My 
fingers so stiff it is with difficulty that I move my pen. 
Yea, verily, " Every rose has its thorn." It came about 
"thusly": 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 31 

A surf-board party was arranged for yesterday 
morning, to be superintended by Duke Kahanamoku — 
the champion swimmer of the world. We met on the 
beach at eleven, and were each presented with a surf- 
board, upon which we lay flat, face down, our feet stick- 
ing over the square end, our chins resting on the board 
some twenty inches short of the pointed end, and our 
arms extended forward, palms down. In this position 
the feet act as propeller, the hands as balancing power. 
Going far out we would wait for a wave and as it fell 
were caught in its milky surf and washed with lightning 
speed to the beach. This is surely a reckless sport, but, 
Oh, the wild joy of it! Even its dangers are fascinat- 
ing, and after a few lessons from Duke I decided to 
venture alone. The frightful speed and driving spray 
caused me to close my eyes, so that I was unable to see 
an outrigger boat just ahead, and the collision intro- 
duced me to the coral reefs below. I rose ! The Duke 
reached the spot, clutched me by the back and spreading 
me out upon a surf-board gave me the famous Hawaiian 
lomi-lomi. This is a kind of rough massage, a sort of 
drubbing, which, though severe, is certainly effective, 
and in a few minutes I was able to join the party as 
good as new. Though our enthusiasm never for a 
moment waned, after two hours of this strenuous exer- 
cise our physical forces refused to act, so bidding Duke 
aloha we painfully wended our way homeward. And, 
as before stated, we are now but limping shadows of our 
former selves ! 

Last Saturday I spent the afternoon in Moanalua 
Park, and although it was my fourth trip there I have 
by no means yet exhausted its many delights. It is 
about three miles from Honolulu, and is the most beauti- 
ful spot on the Islands. It is the private park of the 
leading banker here, the Hon. S. M. Damon, who is not 
only hospitable enough to allow visitors, but each Sat- 
urday serves tea in a wonderful Chinese house made in 



32 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

Canton. This house is in itself a work of art, sitting on 
the edge of a tiny lake, its pagoda roof sloping grace- 
fully over its sides and its doors standing hospitably 
open. The hand carved frieze around the ceiling, the 
inlaid ivory, the onyx tables, the Chinese teakwood fur- 
niture and handiwork of all kinds, with the tiny elabo- 
rately gowned Chinese maids flitting about serving tea 
on a long koa-wood table — why, I could scarcely 
breathe for delight, and I felt I should have been fully 
repaid for my trip to Hawaii merely to have tea in this 
beautiful house ! Placed artistically about are many 
Hawaiian relics, such as feather capes, old flags, paint- 
ings, etc., including a portrait of Mr. Charles R. Bishop 
and his wife, the foster sister to the ex-Queen Liliuoka- 
lani. This Chinese teahouse is situated close by the old 
home of Mr. Damon's father, the Rev. Dr. Damon, who 
officiated at the marriage of ex-Queen Liliuokalani in 
the old mansion now known as the " Arlington Hotel." 

This old Damon house is open to visitors and is 
filled with antiquities of many kinds ; beautiful koa-wood 
bowls, the largest I have seen; polished cocoanut shells 
made into all sorts of useful articles such as dippers, 
pipes, ash trays, etc., beautiful pieces of wood carved 
by the natives — baskets, mats, rugs and pillows of 
lauhala. In the kitchen stands the old stone oven, built 
against the wall, with heavy doors and iron lids, and 
above I saw a hollowed stone of oil with wick of tapa, 
which once served to light the room. 

Near this old house are several grass huts, some of 
them furnished in the manner of the old days, and con- 
taining curiosities such as old fashioned war imple- 
ments, fish hooks cut from stone, spears, shells and fish- 
nets, calabashes, necklaces, tapa cloth, woven grass 
bedding, etc. 

In another part of this extensive park stands a beau- 
tiful Japanese house, also brought in sections from the 
Orient. Removing our shoes we were shown through the 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 33 

many toy-like rooms with their beautiful shining floors, 
their embroidered screens, bamboo shutters and paper 
windows. Just outside we refreshed ourselves with 
water from a dear little fountain, drinking from a bam- 
boo cup. 

This park contains many hundreds of acres, with 
paved roads, beautiful little waterfalls, tiny bridges, 
wooden seats and clusters of tropical flowers, trees and 
shrubs. Truly it is a paradise. There is a monkey- 
pod tree in this park said to be the largest tree on the 
Island. It is in reality only large in comparison, as all 
of the trees here are small. The monkey-pod looks some- 
what like a giant umbrella and is a very beautiful 
tree. There is nothing in its appearance to warrant its 
peculiar name, so I think that perhaps in the more 
tropical climes it must bear fruit which is food for 
the monkeys. 'Neath one of these trees in the Iolani 
Palace grounds I often stop to rest on my journeys to 
and fro, and there I spent a pleasant hour last night 
after watching a gorgeous sunset from Moana pier. I 
was sore from the morning's exercise, and found the 
seat beneath this tree a welcome milestone. I sat for an 
hour or more listening to the soft voiced natives as they 
strolled through the grounds with their ukuleles, and 
only the lateness of the hour forced me onward. 



XV 

f HAVE read many times your good long letter which 
the " Sierra " brought. 
I have been having a fine time this week, all my days 
being full. I have visited a poi factory. You know 
poi is the principal native food, made of the roots of 
the taro plant, which, having been steamed for hours 
and skinned, is then soaked in water and beaten with 
iron mallets until it becomes a stiff dough. It is then 



34 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

fermented and in three or four days is ready for use, 
with the addition of water to form the thickness desired. 
There is one, two and three finger poi, owing to the 
consistency. The natives eat it from a bowl placed be- 
tween two people, by dipping one, two, or three fingers 
into it, as the case may be, giving them a twirl around, 
and then sucking them. The most beautiful of these 
poi bowls are made of the native koa-wood. Nearly 
everyone visiting the Islands eats poi, but not in kanaka 
style. At the hotels it is served like mush and eaten 
with sugar and cream, or made into a cocktail and 
served as an appetizer. 

Yesterday afternoon we visited Honolulu's largest 
public park, named for Kalakaua's Queen, Kapiolani. 
It is situated on the beach five miles south of the city, 
and contains the aquarium. I had seen many beauti- 
ful Hawaiian fishes at the market, but here there were 
hundreds of them with the most gorgeous colorings, the 
most striking contrasts and brilliant hues — almost be- 
yond belief. Perhaps one of the most peculiar was a 
bright orange fish with a flat circular body, long pointed 
bill and quill-shaped fins. But the darling of the speci- 
mens was a dainty baby-blue thing, with gauzy ribbon- 
like streamers trailing far out from his back and tail. 
All of these fishes are found in Hawaiian waters, and 
many of them nowhere else in the world. 

I must not forget to tell you of the wonderful pea- 
fowls kept in this park. They are so gentle they will 
eat from your hand, and so vain that when they have 
visitors they immediately put their magnificent tails on 
exhibition. 

The tracks for the races are in this park; also the 
maneuver grounds, and thousands of soldiers are pre- 
paring to come here from Schofield Barracks to have 
sham battles during the pageant. 

We dined at the University Club and then attended 
a play at the Japanese Asahi theater on Maunakea 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 35 

Street. Our interpreter's name was " Sockie," and at 
eight-thirty he seated us in a box near the stage, where 
we had an excellent view. We noticed some Japanese 
writing on slips of paper pasted to the backs of our 
chairs, which " Sockie " interpreted to read : " Three 
foreign people bought and paid for." We held a con- 
ference as to who could have bought us or who would 
have paid for us, but this was a secret best known to 
" Sockie." 

The balcony and boxes were furnished with chairs 
for foreigners, but the floor of the auditorium was with- 
out seats of any kind, being covered with matting. 
Scantlings were laid upon this matting to form four- 
foot squares in which a party or whole family would sit, 
leaning their sandals against the beam. 

On first entering this place one had the impression of 
a fancy bazaar or curio shop, owing to the varied and 
bright colored articles which hung from the roof. Em- 
broidered silks of every shade and design — brocaded 
obis, fancy sunshades, beaded slippers, bunches of paper 
flowers, fancy fans and many other pretty extrava- 
gances. These we afterward learned were presents for 
the actors. 

I think " Sockie " called it a drama and the actors he 
said were geisha girls. From behind a screen came ear 
splitting sounds from cymbals and gongs, while the bon- 
bon boys served to the audience hard boiled eggs! Of 
this delicacy the " bought and paid for foreigners " in- 
dulged not. 

Between the acts, mid the cracking and peeling of 
eggs, the manager, sitting upon the stage floor, read 
from a paper which caused the greatest cheering and 
laughter by the audience. This, " Sockie " explained, 
was the names of the donors and recipients of the gifts 
before mentioned. 

The costumes were really very beautiful and 
" Sockie " said " cost much money." He told us the 



36 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

play would last for many hours, but at the third act we 
were quite ready to leave the plotters to their fate, since 
we had not the slightest conception of the scheme, and 
could not have told the hero from the villain. 



XVI 



VT'ESTERDAY afternoon we had a swimming party, 
or perhaps I should call it a ball game; a sport 
quite common at Waikiki. A cocoanut is thrown into 
the water, and as it floats like cork is easily kept in 
sight, and the swimmers race to be the first to catch and 
throw it. As a variation we formed a circle and kept 
the ball rolling. This way the tall folks got the best of 
it, the short people being so deep in the water their 
action was hampered. It was all very thrilling! 

Saturday I visited the Bishop Museum, situated in 
the Kamehameha school grounds. It was founded in 
the year 1889 by Charles R. Bishop and named for his 
wife, Bernice Pauahi, a descendant, and the last, of the 
Kamehamehas. The building is of lava stone, the in- 
terior chiefly of Jcoa-wood. We had hoped to spend 
about two hours here but as the museum closed at four, 
we had really less than an hour, and since we felt more 
interested in the Hawaiian relics we confined ourselves 
to that part of the building, having no time left for the 
other Polynesian exhibits. 

On entering we turned to the right, and in the center 
of the room saw a miniature representation of the tem- 
ple of Wahaula in Pua, Hawaii, the last heiau (temple) 
where the natives worshiped, and further on a plaster 
group of tap a beaters with their implements. In the 
cases were much ancient grass work such as mats, hats 
and baskets. The walls were covered with old and val- 
uable pieces of tapa cloth, lauhala mats and grass bed- 
ding — heirlooms of the Royal families and donated 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 37 

from time to time to this museum. There were quanti- 
ties of berry and seed leis, and wonderful strings of 
dog teeth worn as ornaments and to ward off the devil, 
and bracelets made in alternating sections of human 
bone and tortoise shell. There were sandals of hau and 
lauhala, which had been worn by chiefs when traversing 
the rough lava beds. There were cases upon cases of 
hand made fishhooks, of bone, ivory, tortoise shell and 
stone; wonderful fish nets made of cocoanut fiber; shell 
trumpets and many stone bowls, and dishes of tortoise 
shelh There were mortars, cups, pestles and poi 
pounders, cut from coral rock, and a peculiar instrument 
used for opening tough breadfruit. The adz was the 
chief tool of the Hawaiians, and there were dozens of 
these made from clinkstone. There were also many 
chisels, some of clinkstone and some of shark's teeth, 
and great bowling stones, used in an ancient game. We 
saw many koa-wood staffs which had been used by very 
aged chiefs, and a broom made of the ribs of cocoanut 
leaves. Standing against the wall were numbers of 
famous koa-wood surf-boards, which had been owned 
by kings and high chiefs, and there was an old coast- 
ing sled, said to have been the property of the hero 
Lonoikamakahiki, used in a very aristocratic sliding 
game. Much pains was taken in preparing the road 
for the game, which was made on the side of a steep 
hill and covered with dry grass to make it slippery. 
There were many canoes and outrigger boats which 
had been owned by prominent chiefs, all painted yellow 
and black, and I have noticed that these two colors are 
still used exclusively in the painting of these boats. 
There were many paddles of different sizes and different 
kinds of wood. 

Passing to the next room we noticed first a model of 
the crater of Kilauea, and next a very old grass hut, 
brought from the remote valley of Kauai. It was 
thatched with pipi grass, and put together in the 



38 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

ancient native way, the timbers having been cut with 
the stone adz. 

I was much interested in the stone work, especially 
the odd-looking lamps. These were not uniform in 
shape or size, apparently being made from any stone 
convenient. The oil cup was hollowed out of the cen- 
ter of a stone and filled with kukui oil and lighted by 
a wick of tapa at the rim. When extra light was de- 
sired more wicks were added. These lamps were also 
used as candlesticks, which candles were made from 
nuts of the candle-tree, after being roasted, shelled 
and strung. These candle nuts are very uniform in size, 
so the natives learned to use them for marking time. 

There was quite a collection of rare koa-wood bowls, 
most of them from the Kamehameha family. The finger 
bowls, of the same wood, were used mainly in families 
of rank and had two compartments, one for water and 
the other to hold sweet scented leaves on which to wipe 
one's fingers. The awa bowls were mostly plain, but of 
the fine koa-wood, and used to hold a peculiar drink 
called awa, which produces much the same effect as alco- 
hol, and is made from a root. Then there were a num- 
ber of spittoons which had once belonged to Kame- 
hameha and his high chiefs. Most of them were inlaid 
with teeth and bones of slain enemies, the purpose be- 
ing to humiliate, as far as possible, the vanquished foe! 
On the other hand, to have one's bones used in the deco- 
ration of kahilis or food bowls was a great honor! 

The collection of gourds was most interesting. The 
wood is thin and light; they are varied in shape and 
size, and were put to the most novel uses. There were 
traveling trunks, food baskets, water bottles, hula 
drums, dishes and drinking cups, many of which were 
oddly decorated in conventional designs. These gourds 
were also used for helmets. 

There were many wooden idols in this room, all very 
hideous looking, but by far the worst of these was the 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 39 

god of poison. He was about three feet tall by a foot 
wide; his head was covered with human hair and his 
jaws filled with dog's teeth. For many years he had 
been lost, but in 1852 was found in a valley at the foot 
of a cliff. 

In a special place are collected a number of the relics . 
of the reign of the last king Kalakaua, and his Queen 
Kapiolani. The royal standard hangs on the wall, in 
front of which sits the two gilded thrones with the gold 
crown and sceptre. 

From here we passed over to the left of the entrance, 
where were kept the sacred feather relics. There we 
saw the most valuable relic of the museum, a yellow 
feather cape, the famous robe of Ramehameha the Great, 
and from its card we learned that the gathering of the 
feathers had lasted one hundred years ! The attendant 
told us it had not been worn since the days of Rame- 
hameha II, but on state occasions had been placed over 
the throne. She told us its cost had been estimated as 
high as one million dollars! These yellow feathers 
are found on the mamo and oo birds, the capturing of 
which was attended with much danger, owing to their 
habits of nesting in very high and rocky places ; but 
so much honor attended success that it was the favorite 
occupation, and followed so persistently that the species 
was fast disappearing when Kamehameha I made the 
killing of these birds a crime, and ordered that but two 
feathers be removed annually from each bird, as more 
than this would imperil its life. It is a current belief 
that there are but two of these yellow feathers on each 
bird, found under the wings, but the attendant ex- 
plained there were really twelve. There were numbers 
of feather capes, lets, and kahilis, dating from Kame- 
hameha I, down to the present time. Some of these 
kahilis had poles inlaid with tortoise shell and portions 
of the leg and arm bones of some of Hawaii's most dis- 
tinguished kings and chiefs who fell in the battle of 



40 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

Nuuanu. There was also a pure white kahili made by 
the ex-Queen Liliuokalani for the funeral of Mrs. 
Bishop. The kahili is an old insignia of royalty and 
never used on ordinary occasions, being reserved for 
festivities in which the king or high chiefs took part. 
They are made of feathers of many colors wired in 
circles and attached to polished poles about ten feet 
long. At the death of royalty or high chiefs, while the 
body lays in state, these kahili poles stand around the 
bier, while twenty of the highest chiefs keep watch and 
chant the hymn which was composed at the birth of the 
deceased. This form is still observed among the na- 
tives. All noble families have their own kahilis, used 
throughout their life and at death left by their tomb. 

It was now closing time, but the attendant kindly 
allowed us a hasty glance at the coral collection and 
portraits. There were many paintings of kings and 
queens, including one of Kamehameha the Great. 

I was not satisfied with so hasty a visit, and want to 
go again before leaving the Islands. 



XVII 

HP HE good ship " Nile " brought your letters yes- 
terday. I am so glad you are enjoying my long 
letters and that my detailed accounts have pleased you. 
I have made an effort to let you know how I spend all 
my time, that we may seem not so far apart. 

Thursday the U. S. transport " Sherman " sailed for 
Manila and a number of us went down to see her off. 
This makes me realize that in a short time I, too, shall 
be on the way. 

While on a shopping tour today I was attracted by 
strange sounds, unlike anything I had ever heard, and 
which seemed to come from an old church building. It 
was a sort of moaning or smothered howl. On inquiry I 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 41 

learned that these sounds came from mercenary mourn- 
ers on duty at the funeral of a very old kanaka chief. I 
can't tell you how sorry I am that a previous engage- 
ment made it impossible for me to attend this burial, 
which, owing to the rank of the deceased, was per- 
formed with great ceremony. In the old days, at the 
birth of every noble child a chant was composed by a 
near relative or friend in which was set forth the vir- 
tues and deeds of valor of its ancestors. This chant 
was sung during the infant's entire life on all festive 
occasions in which it took the prominent part, and was 
used at the last rites. It was this chant or wail that I 
had heard. 

It was also the custom to plant a tree at the birth 
of each child, and I saw in the Bishop Museum a section 
of the tree planted at the birth of Mrs. Charles R. 
Bishop. 

I wish I had the time to write you more of these 
strange old customs while they are yet fresh in my 
mind and the charm of the country and its people is 
still upon me. I heard such a sweet and romantic tale 
yesterday of the old tapa beaters, when that industry 
was the principal occupation of the women. These 
beating grounds were sometimes miles apart, and that 
they might enjoy the companionship of their coworkers 
a code of signals was arranged by which messages were 
transmitted from valley to valley by means of strokes 
and rests of the tapa flail. Invitations were issued, 
local conditions reported, help solicited and dangers 
made known, all by this novel mallet code. 

There was, and to some extent still is, one Hawaiian 
custom, mother, which I know will fill you with horror, 
but which appeals very strongly to me. This is the 
custom of parents parting with their infants when 
only a few hours old, to be delivered to adopted parents 
who have been chosen before the birth of the child. This 
custom originated, and for some time was practiced only, 



42 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

among the royal families and high chiefs, whose pur- 
pose seems to have been thus to ally the chiefs of nobility 
by cementing the ties of friendship between their chil- 
dren. So far from being a savage impulse, this idea 
appeals to me as belonging to a state of civilization 
higher than any yet attained, and if practiced by fam- 
ilies and by nations might, without armament, bring 
to us the world-wide peace so much prayed for. 



XVIII 

"VT OW just won't you be surprised! I had not in- 
tended doing this, but my friends all insisted that 
I would be missing one of the greatest natural wonders 
of the world, and so here am I, on the way to Hilo, 
the capital of the Island of Hawaii, two hundred miles 
by sea. Hawaii is twice the area of all the other seven 
combined, and it is from this Island the group derives 
its name. 

The sea is very calm, and I don't expect to be the 
least bit sick. This little boat has made the journey 
to and from Hilo for many years, and although she 
has lost both youth and beauty, she has the reputation 
of a well spent life, and the Captain says is still worth 
her weight in gold ! 

[Later] 

I was awakened an hour since by the stopping of the 
boat. Wondering what the matter might be I hastily 
stepped into my slippers, donned my steamer coat and 
went forth. 

Boats were being lowered which were soon filled with 
Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese and Hawaiians. Then 
the mail bags were thrown in and off they went for 
Lahaina, the capital of Maui, about one mile distant. 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 43 

There were four native oarsmen to each boat, and I 
watched their long graceful strokes as the boats glided 
out into the water and were lost in the darkness. The 
Captain told me this island had no harbor, and that in 
this manner all passengers, freight and mail, must be 
landed. The boats were gone less than thirty minutes, 
bringing back with them passengers, freight, and mail 
for Hilo, and I am now in Social Hall adding this 
note to my letter. 

P. S. No. 2. — It is a beautiful morning ; the little 
town of Hilo lies before us in the sun, and I have just 
taken a picture of Cocoanut Island, which is only a 
point of lava rock sticking out of the sea and derives its 
name from the cocoanut trees that cover it. These 
trees, whose life and growth seem to require only a bit 
of rock and salt water, interest me more than any on 
the islands, with their bodies leaning and curving in 
every direction, leafless and bare for a hundred feet, 
until their palmlike top is reached with its bright yellow 
fruit slowly swaying in the upper air like a ship at 
sea. 

The party is now ready, and we start immediately for 
the volcano, driving through Hilo and by Rainbow 
Falls. 

XIX 

A\^ELL, I have seen it, the greatest active volcano 
in the world, situated on one of a group of islands 
the most isolated of the globe. 

Leaving the dock about ten yesterday morning we 
drove through Hilo, the principal city of the island, 
situated on its eastern side and having a population of 
about seven thousand. Our chauffeur is a Portuguese. 
His name is Jose, and so many years has he furnished 
information and guided strangers through these moun- 
tainous defiles, over lava beds and crevasses, on up to 



44 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

the snow-capped point of Mauna Loa, that simultane- 
ous with the cranking of the machine his tongue is let 
loose upon us, and his intelligent description of all to 
be seen and the changes that have taken place in the past 
twenty years makes the trip to the crater one never 
to be forgotten ; not alone for the luxuriant beauty of 
its tropical ferns, flowers and foliage, but for the 
glimpse it affords of past history and future possibili- 
ties. 

Jose explained to us that Kilauea was not a mountain 
of itself, but a crater lake situated on the side of Mauna 
Loa, some twenty miles from its summit. 

We traveled over a splendid road built by the Ha- 
waiian Government nearly twenty years ago, and im- 
proved from time to time, until now the thirty mile 
ride to the Volcano House leaves you feeling none of 
the fatigue experienced by earlier tourists who made 
the journey upon the backs of pack horses, with their 
shawls, cloaks, umbrellas and edibles lashed behind. 

At a turn in the road the hotel and grounds (four 
thousand feet above the sea) eame suddenly into 
view, and our astonishment knew no bounds as the steam, 
smoke, and odor of sulphur burst upon us. From hun- 
dreds of pits and vapor cracks rolled clouds of dense 
white steam, humidifying the air for miles, while in the 
distance thick masses of smoke and vapor issued from 
the crater itself, some three miles away. 

After a hearty lunch we sallied forth to visit the 
sulphur banks. For miles around were holes and cracks 
in the ground emitting vapors so strong with sulphur 
and other mineral odors that one could scarcely breathe 
when directly over them. Condensed steam dripped 
from our hands and faces as we stooped to examine 
ferns and grasses growing in these openings. The 
foliage was coated with a paste of sulphur, and it was 
a surprise to us that vegetation could abound under 
such conditions. These sulphur banks cover many 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 45 

acres and glitter and sparkle like diamonds on a bed 
of gold. 

On our return we visited the vapor bathhouse, which 
is only a shed, wherein sits a box with seat built over 
one of these steaming sulphur holes. It has a sliding 
lid with a hole for the head and here the bather sits, 
providing he can endure the temperature, which often 
rises to a scalding point. 

The hotel is situated on the edge of the outer crater 
of Kilauea, six hundred feet above the great lava plain. 
There is a splendid automobile road for seven miles 
to the very brink of the inner fire pit. This pit itself 
is called Hale-mau-mau. 

At three o'clock, with Jose at the wheel, we started 
on this road, which took us past the edge of many dead 
volcanoes, and afforded a view of most magnificent 
scenery. In this altitude the air is much cooler, with 
intermittent rain and sunshine. We asked Jose about 
this and he replied that it rained about eight times each 
day and eight days each week. I understand that in 
the vicinity of Hilo there really is an annual rainfall 
of fifteen feet. 

We reached the inner crater about four o'clock, and 
leaving the machine made our way over the cold lava 
plain to the pit, which is situated in the center of this 
plain and encloses a lake of fire about one thousand feet 
in diameter. Sometimes this fire rises nearly to the 
edge of the cold lava, but just now it is about three 
hundred feet below the brink. 

There is more than two thousand acres of this cold 
lava rock, forming a great level mesa with nearly per- 
pendicular sides, eight miles in circumference. In cool- 
ing, this lava has taken on many peculiar shapes, some 
of it resembling twisted rope, while again it forms great 
waves like ocean billows ; sometimes there are cone- 
shaped bubbles rising many feet in height, and again 
there will be great spaces as smooth as a floor, which 



46 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

give out a hollow sound as you tread upon them, and 
all is of a bronze or dark metal color. 

As we neared the brink of this pit there was a fearful 
hissing and splashing like the breakers of the ocean, 
and a terrible roaring like heavy thunder before a com- 
ing storm, and then the storm burst forth ! But it was 
a storm of fire, which beat and raged against a burning 
shore. Great red billows were shot high in the air, 
dropping with a terrific thud back into the glaring 
lake. This wild fantastic scene takes possession of your 
every faculty, and you stand dumb before its awful 
glory ! 

I know not how long we stood here, awed into silence 
by this fearful scene, but after a while, following Jose, 
we made our way a mile or so over the cold lava to a 
fissure where shot forth blue flames and gaseous odors. 
Here we scorched postals for souvenirs, placing them 
on the end of sticks and holding them to the edge of the 
opening. 

The sun had now gone down, but the burning pit 
threw its glare over the entire basin, making it almost 
as light as day. For a long time we stood watching 
this restless, ever changing sea of fire. Always of the 
fiercest red, the melted, boiling rock would gush up- 
ward like water, then falling back would come again 
in fine showers, like a sparkling fountain. The wind, 
catching these waterlike sprays, carries fine particles 
out upon the cold lava, which, collecting in the crevices 
lays in soft brown masses like a woman's hair. This 
spun rock is known as Tele's hair, and much of it is 
gathered for souvenirs. 

The natives like to tell of the revered Queen Kapio- 
lani I, who, being converted to the Christian belief, 
plucked the " sacred berries " from the borders of the 
volcano and while singing Christian hymns descended 
to the boiling lava and cast them into the lake of fire, 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 47 

thus defying and breaking forever the power of the 
fire goddess, Tele, 

It is a very ancient custom to cast gifts and offerings 
to this fire goddess, and for many years the tourists 
have imitated the natives in this act of worship. This 
gift throwing fori ed a pleasant feature of our enter- 
tainment last evening, when coins, flowers, books, gloves 
and many other things found a fiery grave. Having 
nothing else convenient I cast in my best sandwich, 
which, considering the state of my appetite, should have 
appealed very strongly to her majesty! 

We drove home by moonlight, reaching the Inn about 
ten o'clock. The night was damp and chilly, so the 
big crackling koa-wood fire in the great hall was a wel- 
come comfort, and as we dried and warmed ourselves 
Jose entertained us with native songs and dances. He 
was as complete a success in this line as he had been 
when guide and driver, and we shall ever remember him 
with pleasure and gratitude. 

Before retiring we addressed and posted our souvenir 
cards, and were much surprised to find that although 
my roommate had not joined us in this card burning 
at the volcano, still she was posting a bundle of sixty! 
Imagine our amazement when she placidly remarked 
that she had scorched these in Honolulu over her elec- 
tric iron! " Where, 9 ' said she, " is the sense in burning 
your fingers and blistering your face over one of those 
infernal cracks, when you can sit comfortably in a 
rocker and brown them just to a turn? " Dear old lady, 
her j ourneys around the world have not been in vain ! 

This morning we visited the tree molds, two or three 
miles from the hotel. These molds are formed by the 
downpour of hot lava upon a forest of trees, burying 
them completely, after which the charred tree crumbled 
away, leaving the hole bearing the exact shape of the 
tree thus cremated. 

We then visited a koa-wood forest. This wood is 



48 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

found in larger quantities on this island than any other 
of the group, but the demand being so much greater 
than the supply, it is quite expensive. We secured 
some nice canes, which we will have polished in Hono- 
lulu. 

Later we descended to the lava basin by the foot 
trail, gathering flowers, ferns and " sacred berries " 
on the way. Here we found rustic bridges spanning 
the long deep crevasses, making it possible to reach the 
crater by this shorter route. However, it was now so 
late that we retraced our steps, reaching the hotel in 
time for luncheon, after which we visited the Govern- 
ment's seismogram station close by, where Dr. Allen 
kindly explained this marvelous little machine. It sits 
alone in a room whose floor of cement, sixteen feet deep, 
is as level as it is possible for anything to be made. We 
watched the working of its many sensitive parts through 
a glass wall, and afterward visited the Doctor's office 
above, where he showed us the charts bearing the no- 
tations registered by this marvelous piece of mechanism. 
There have been no eruptions of note since 1894, but the 
least quiverings of the earth for many miles is recorded 
here. 

Some of our party are now gone to see the prison, 
others to visit a Hawaiian village, where the natives 
may be seen in their houses of grass, feeding upon raw 
fish and poi! I have remained behind to look over 
the " Volcano Books," containing remarks from many 
prominent people. Some of the entries are long and 
stupid, others absurd with comic pictures of the fire 
goddess, the mountain in eruption, and weary travelers 
on the trail. Aside from these there are some articles 
quite valuable, recording the date and extent of erup- 
tions. Some of these date many years back. One writ- 
ten in 1868 says : " Kilauea is dry." Another of the 
same date reads as follows : 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 49 

" We have to-day made a full circuit of the crater and not 
found a trace of liquid lava, not a vestige of the incandescent 
lakes remaining; in the place of them vast pits, with beetling, 
toppling walls of frightful desolation. At least two-thirds 
of the area of the crater toward west and northwest have 
caved in and sunk about 300 feet below the level of the re- 
maining portion of the old floor. Near the northwest corner, 
the principal seat of the fearful catastrophe of twelve days 
ago, there exists a deep chasm of about one-third mile in 
length, the surrounding grounds thrown in the utmost con- 
fusion and disorder. Heavy vapors of steam rise from most 
parts of the crater, almost from every crack and chasm, and 
the floor is in many places so hot that the hand does not bear 
its touch. During our stay below, twice heavy detonations 
occurred of falling rocky masses, indicating a continuous 
caving in of portions of the floor." 

I notice an entry by " Mark Twain " dated June 
7th, 1866, which reads : 

" Like others who came before me, I arrived here. I trav- 
eled the same way I came — most of the way. But I knew 
there was a protecting Providence over us all, and I felt no 
fear. We have had a good deal of weather; some of it was 
only so-so (and to be candid the remainder was similar). 
But, however, details of one's trifling experiences during his 
journey hither may not always be in good taste in a book de- 
signed as a record of volcanic phenomena; therefore, let us 
change to the proper sub j ect. We visited the crater, intend- 
ing to stay all night, but the bottle containing the provisions 
got broke, and we were obliged to return. But while we were 
standing near the South Lake, say 250 yards distant, we 
saw a lump of dirt about the size of a piece of chalk. I said : 
' In a moment there is something unusual going to happen/ 
We stood by for a surge and waited, but nothing happened 
— not at that time. But soon afterward we observed an- 
other clod of dirt about the same size. It hesitated, shook, 
and then fell into the lake. Oh, God ! It was awful ! We 
then took a drink. Few visitors will ever achieve the hap- 
piness of having two such experiences as the above in suc- 
cession. While we lay there a puff of gas came along and 
we jumped up and galloped over the rough lava in the most 



50 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

ridiculous manner, leaving our blankets behind. We did it 
because it was fashionable, and because it makes one appear 
to have had a thrilling adventure. We then took another 
drink, after which we returned and camped a little closer 
to the lake. I mused and said : ' How the stupendous 
grandeur of this magnificently terrible and sublime mani- 
festation of celestial power doth fill the poetic soul with 
grand thoughts and grander images, and how the over- 
powering solemnity * * *.' Here the gin gave out. In 
the careless hands of Brown the bottle broke." 

Mark Twain. 

" Mark Twain " gave so many evidences of his de- 
light with Hawaii, both in talks and in writings, that 
while he was building " Stormfield " a beautiful Jcoa- 
wood mantel was sent him as a present from the Islands. 

Very soon we start again for another visit to Hale- 
mau-mau. We shall carry our dinner and eat by the 
light of the burning lake! 



T 



XX 



HIS is written as I sit in the crater of Kilauea vol- 
cano, watching the pit of fire below. The steam rolls 
through millions of crevices in the cold lava for miles 
around me, and my boots, braced in one of these cracks, 
drip with water from the steam. 

I am just resting from a weird experience. Beneath 
this layer of lava there are numberless caverns or caves, 
which may be entered through openings, sometimes 
barely large enough for your body to pass through. 
I entered two of these today, and though I am glad I 
did so, I certainly have no desire to repeat the adven- 
ture. Squeezing my body through an aperture, I slid 
down about thirty feet to a bed of crumbling white sul- 
phur. Following a speck of light in the distance I felt 
my way along the rough sulphur walls until I reached 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 51 

this skylight. Climbing upward from stone to stone 
I reached my hands toward this opening and was drawn 
slowly to the surface by two guides who lay prone upon 
the ground in order to reach my fingers. This place is 
called the " Devil's Cave." From here I entered an- 
other cave called the " Devil's Kitchen," and to judge 
from the odors which greeted my nostrils I should say 
his Satanic Majesty was about to dine upon matches 
and burning powder! From the roof hung sticks of 
sulphur, which rattled to the rocks below as I touched 
them in passing. I could never tell you how beautiful 
this chamber was! Its walls were spangled with shin- 
ing crystals, so bright that the room was radiant with 
a yellow light. I could see openings into other rooms, 
which, like this, were hung with myriads of glittering 
stalactites. I longed, O how I did long, to explore all 
those caverns, but so painful did the sulphurous gas 
become to my throat and eyes that I was forced to make 
my way back to the surface, but the memory of this 
beautiful fairyland and the mystery it holds will haunt 
me for years ! 

Think, as you read this letter, of its having been 
written by the light of a fire unquenchable ! 



XXI 



o 



MOTHER dear! When I got your cable: " Stay 
for Pageant," I almost wept for joy, I was that 
happy! I read it out on the lanai and everybody re- 
joiced with me! They all said: "Let's celebrate," 
and I said : " Yes, let 's ! " And what do you think 
we did? You couldn't guess in a million years, so I '11 
tell you. We unpacked my trunk! Now maybe that 
don't sound thrilling to you, but it was. And maybe 
it don't send your blood to a hundred and twenty in 
the shade, but it did mine! and while the gala days are 



52 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

still with me I want to give you just a little off the 
edge. 

It began, the day after I arrived from Hilo, with 
military parades and races. The city was packed to 
the guards. Besides tourists from all over the world, 
I think every other island of Hawaii was emptied into 
Honolulu. Everybody seemed happy and good-natured, 
and as usual the weather was perfect. The streets and 
buildings were decorated with flags intermingled with 
tropical foliage and flowers, many buildings being beau- 
tifully and artistically trimmed. Out in the bay visit- 
ing ships were flying flags of every nation, with the 
Stars and Stripes above. 

In the afternoon the ex-Queen attended the races 
and many obtained her autograph on pretty little cards. 
In the evening we saw " The Tourist," a local talent 
comedy. It certainly was an opportunity to see your- 
self as others see you. 

The next day we had the landing of Kamehameha I 
at Waikiki Beach, representing the invasion of 1795. 
The flotilla was really quite a sight, and we watched 
it for several hours moving slowly and gracefully to 
shore. Some of the boats had sails of lauhala, and all 
were of the outrigger style, many of them being lashed 
together. Kamehameha and each of his high chiefs 
had retainers, who carried spears, kahilis and other 
emblems. Of course the old king Kamehameha was the 
central figure, and very grand he looked, towering 
above all his warriors, with his wonderful feather head- 
dress, his long yellow cape and tall white kahili. 

On the ground next to the ex-Queen's residence there 
was a wonderful public luau, lasting throughout the 
day. 

The next morning came the parade, which formed in 
front of Iolani Palace, wending its way out to the re- 
view grounds, where there were hundreds of people with 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 53 

cameras and kodaks. The floats were very beautiful, 
with people and costumes of many nations. Each of 
the eight islands was separately represented by a 
Princess and her retinue, and mounted on their horses, 
with their bright colored pa-us (long silk riding skirt) 
floating in the breeze, they made a gay and thrilling 
sight. There was a Chinese regiment of soldiers repre- 
senting warriors of one thousand years ago. Then 
came the Japanese, Portuguese and other Orientals, 
all telling some story of their own country. And over, 
and around, and all through this gay cosmopolitan 
throng floated the American flag! 

Out on the maneuver grounds, at the foot of Diamond 
Head, there were sham battles, races and parades, and 
in the evening the town was brilliantly lighted and 
noisy with entertainment! 

These were truly gala days, and in perfect harmony 
with the happy light-hearted people whose land it 
really is. 

I learned yesterday that the Chinese and Japanese 
form over half the population of these islands, while 
there is scarcely a fifth, full-blood Hawaiians. 

Last week while riding we visited the Queen's Hos- 
pital, Public Library and Mid-Pacific Institute, which 
latter is an amalgamation of three old mission schools. 
It is situated in Manoa Valley, the buildings are large 
and imposing, of red lava rock, one for the girls and 
one for the boys. It is supported entirely by dona- 
tions. 

My spirit of adventure received a slight jar the 
other day when I was invited to visit the detention 
station for lepers, although I am told that after don- 
ning the rubber coat and gloves provided by the guard, 
there is really no danger whatever from contagion. In 
thinking of the lepers I have always associated them 
with hopeless misery and desolation, but they tell me 



54 Seven Weeks in Hawaii 

they are reajy "*£ TtLlT^ ^ WeU ™> ' d 

They have theU of f o d Sv of T?^ Pe< * Ie - 
and school, p a p ers to °,° ' ? ,ft Pithing, a library 

ments, theatosfmovW pic ure ^ "T^ inst ^ 
the necessities, ;„, ^^^^ 'act all 

just now, a„d Iv7 T StlC ° Ver shark h ™ting 
first expeditTon,X S ol a n-r mated aCCOUnt ° f ^ 
is fran^d in £ trhSt^C W H? S he 1 
that ln shark hunting H,» ^j r explained 

(preferably a horse if carrie A ° f & , ^ a " imal 
where it attracts the mo „ s te rs Th. ** 'iT k " d ' 
Pooned and dragged to shore T J 7 "* - hen W 

scarcely anyone can at fi?J y f, " * P ron °unce it, 
He is really of nobf. ftfe "t* 6 *" ° aU him " Duk e" 
chiefs » thf ;oyor d ly b r g te h by anCeSt ° rS *"* ^ 

any othe^for I IS ^ , P & With tWs S P ot than 
very happy visft W^et £K ST? ° f F 
beauties by day and hv n ;Tf P * \ thlS place - Its 
to describe, and I eel wS %£' W ^ P ™ 
little poem, "At WaftikT": g ^ he Wr0te his 



Seven Weeks in Hawaii 55 

" So many words are said, 

I will not try. With reverent eye 
Will bow before the sea, and sky, 
In silence, while my joy soars high, 
At Waikiki." 

I was successful in changing my ticket to the 
" Korea," and so after all I shall return on a real ocean 
liner. 

And now it is over — my happy visit — and with 
'* Mark Twain " I feel that " no other land could so 
longingly and beseechingly haunt me sleeping and 
waking as this one." For me, too, its " balmy airs will 
be always blowing, its summer seas flashing in the sun; 
the pulsing of its surf beat in my ear," and the voices 
of its gentle people make music in my heart! 



INDEX 



INDEX 



" Alexander Young," hotel, 

10 
Algaroba, 15 
"Aloha Oe," 24 
Banana, 13, 21 
Berger, Prof., 10 
Bishop, Charles R., 32, 36 
Bishop Museum, 36-40, 41 
Breadfruit, 15 
Capitol Building, 24 
Chinese dinner, 26, 27 
Cleghorn, Hon. A. S., 12 
Cocoanut, 10, 13, 29, 43 
Cook, Joseph P., home of, 23 
Coral, 17 

Curio shops, 21, 24 
Damon, Rev. Dr., 32 
Damon, Hon. S. M., 31, 32 
"Devil's Cave," 51 
"Devil's Kitchen," 51 
Diamond Head, 9 
Dodge, quoted, 54, 55 
Duke Kahanamoku, 13, 31, 54 
Fish market, 11, 12 
Guava, 17 
Haleiwa, 17 
Hale-mau-mau, 45-51 
Hau, tree, 17 

"He Manao He Aloha," 26 
Hilo, 42, 43, 45 
Hula-hula, 25 
Japanese play, 34-36 
Job's tears, 21 
Kahaulelio, David K, 19 
Kamehameha I, 15, 24, 30, 39 
Kahili, 29, 30, 39, 40, 52 
Kanaka, 7, 19, 28, 41 



9, Kapiolani Park, 34 

Kapiolani I, Queen, 46, 47 

Kilauea, 43-51 

Koa, 21, 22, 23, 47, 48 

Lahaina, 42 

Lanai, 7, 8 

Lauhala, 16, 17 

Leis, 7, 14 

Liliuokalani, ex-Queen, 5, 10, 19, 

20, 21, 24 
Lomi-lomi, 31 
Loy, Chung, 26 
Luau, 19 

" The Moana," hotel, 9, 14 
Manoa Valley, 28, 53 
Moanalua Park, 31-33 
"Mark Twain," quoted, 49, 50, 

55 
Mauna Loa, 44 
Mid-Pacific Institute, 53 
Molokai, 6, 53, 54 
"Night in Hawaii of Old, A," 

25, 26 
Nuuanu Valley, 15 
Outrigger Club House, 9, 12 
Pageant, the, 34, 51-53 
Pali, 15, 16 
Papaia, 15, 23 
Pearl Harbor, 18, 29 
Pele, 46, 47; "Pele's hair," 46 
Photographing, 20, 21, 23 
Pineapple, 18 
Poi, 16, 33, 34 
Pua, 29 

Punch Bowl, 27, 28, 29 
Rice, 16 

59 



60 



Index 



Royal Hawaiian Band, 10, 20, 

30 
" Royal Hawaiian," hotel, 7, 9, 

22 
Royal Mausoleum, 29, 30 
Schofield Barracks, 17, 18 
Shark hunting, 54 
Snail gatherers, 12, 13 
Sugar cane, 17 
Surf riding, 9, 13, 14, 31 
Tapa, 22 



Taro, 16 

Theresa, Princess, 19, 20 

Thomas plantations, 18 

Ti, 30 

"Volcano Books," 48-50 

Wahiawa, 18 

Waialua, 17 

Waikiki, 8, 9, 10, 13, 54, 55 

Wilcox, Robert, 19, 20 

Wiliwili, 21 



JUN 23 1913 



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